Just One
by lieze
Summary: Crossover. Tokiya Mikagami over to GKeepers. Erm...basically to tell you is a spoiler, but Tokiya's all alone now, and he discovers something he never knew in the past. ^_^ Enjoy~ R&R pls!
1. Living On

"21 gatekeepers in the world  
15 actively involved  
6 of the 15 are currently in Japan..."  
  
6 of the 21 are inactive. Or they have turned evil.   
Or their whereabouts are no longer known.  
  
Title: Just one  
  
Chapter 1: Living on  
  
Apparently, it was never on the news, so I never knew about it. I'm a straightforward kind of person, and usually, if it isn't there, I don't bother to seek it out. Whatever "it" is. I don't even know. Everything is like what they always say, just a blur. Nothing is clear, nothing is visible.   
  
I used to know them. What were we called at that time...? Team Hokage, yeah, that was it. Hokage..that mysterious group of Ninjas. The Madougu...the fights and battles we had...Domon...Fuko...Koganei...Recca...and of course, Yanagi. Where did they go?  
  
I used to know them. They had changed me in all sorts of ways. I had been blinded totally by the ruthless thing called "revenge", and they had pulled me out of it. Unknowingly, the reason for my fighting in the tournament...was not solely for revenge. It had not just been because of that. There were other reasons.   
  
Those people, they had changed me, and deep inside, I was grateful for that. However, they are gone now. Dead? No, those friends of mine, they wouldn't die so easily. Not normally, anyway. Somehow, they were just gone. Disappeared? No, not likely. This is the real world, people don't disappear for no reason. But I don't know where they are, so I can't give you any explanation regarding their whereabouts. None at all.  
  
They will always be in my memory, forever, and no matter what, I can't forget them. But I will never be able to find them as well. Too faraway, someone once told me. I can't remember who, but I just know it...it was someone...someone from a long time ago.   
  
My Ensui, the madougu I had always relied on in battles. It was my life-time companion. It had been by my side for the longest time since I ever could remember. Well, not really, Big Sister gave it to me, and ever since, it's... Gone now, though. Yeah, vanished, just like all the other madougu. Hokage hardly exists now; only in memories. In our memories.  
  
But it's still there.   
  
I don't know when, but it has always been there. That familiar smell...the smell of freshwater- smell coming from a crystal clear lake. The refreshing, sweet smell of water. It has always been there, even after Ensui had been 'destroyed'. I don't know why it always surrounds me, still, and I guess I never got around to find out why. Never bothered, maybe...or was I just tired. Tired of all those battles...tired of running around, travelling, training, being strong...   
  
Yeah, and about the "news" that I was talking about at the beginning? I seem to be growing old, side-tracking and all...haha, what a stupid joke. I'm still only twenty-one. Back to 'it' though...never on the news, yeah, it never was. I only heard about it from some fortune teller at some silly amusement park. Never used to go to those kind of places, but suddenly, Tokiya has changed, and I acutally went. Maybe something inside me was hoping to find those guys over there. After all, they all loved amusement parks. In fact, it was at some sort of an amusement park where I first met them. In a mirror maze or something, and I fought with Recca, and...   
  
Stop it, Tokiya, don't go there.  
  
So anyway, that weird woman beckoned me to go into her suspicious-looking tent. At first, of course, I didn't want to go in, but that kind of tempting feeling overcame me, and I couldn't resist. It was the first time I felt what it was like to give in to temptation. I realised I had totally sealed up my emotions, heart and mind...just for revenge. Fortunately...  
  
Why do you keep thinking about those times?!  
  
The so-called fortune teller told me that I was more than I thought I was. Which I thought was bull-shit, since, well, they always say that. Having a lot of time on my hands, I waited for her to continue, and she said something that really shocked me. Until now, which is a week later, I still keep thinking about what she said.  
  
"I know 'bout your past, boy, and I know you've had some tough times, eh?! But lemme tell ya somethin, you will still have to continue fightin'. Ever heard of them aliens? Believe in 'em? Haha, if ya don't, you better. Invaders, that's the official name they give. AEGIS...yeah, they call themselves that. Some earth-defendin' corporation- sound cool to ya, boy?! Those people who defend our Earth, they called Gatekeepers. They got them special powers that they draw from gates, heh heh, pretty cool, eh boy? Ah, I see ya now interest'd... You gotta go find 'em people, or they'll find ya, I tell ya, they'll find ya sooner or later! Fight fer our planet, boy! Use ya ability 'n' fight!"  
  
What rubbish, I thought. It was nonsensical, stupid, lame, impossible...plain dumb. But when those initial reactions faded, I heard that small voice inside of me, screaming at me, shrieking madly that what this old lady was saying was the truth. And nothing but the truth. I hadn't heard a single thing about what she was talking about, though...what AEGIS, Gatekeepers...invaders... Those things were really 'alien' to me. But yet, they seemed so damn familiar. Why? I asked myself. Actually, I was asking that small voice, but I got no answer anyway. Nothing at all. Just silence.   
  
Of course- since when do small voices in people's heads reply when you ask them anything? It never happens. Such shit never happens.  
  
It's funny, though, how coincidental everything else was, after my encounter with that strange woman. I was walking through a dark alley, and a drunkard was mumbling some gibberish. He was muttering things like "Gate Open", and "invaders are coming". I could have just heard wrongly, but it was so similar to what the fortune teller had told me. No, it wasn't simliar...it was familiar.  
  
So I just walked away.  
  
And again, while I was at a ramen shop, some grey-haired teenage guy came over to me, and asked me to follow him somewhere. He was wearing a suit-like outfit, with a red tie and black jacket. He looked very worn down, and I had thought he was madman. But most obviously, he didn't think so. I turned him down, not wanting to be involved in whatever he was trying to do, and he didn't give up. He told me even if I was not ready, if I just agreed to meet him, I would understand.   
  
And like I said, it's funny how everything fell into place, because that small voice resurfaced, and bugged me persistently to say 'yes'. And while pondering over it, I realised that I had not agreed because I was afraid, and not because I didn't want to be involved. No...I had been invovled with so many things, it was normal if I got invovled in something else. But this time, it was fear. I was afraid of finding something out. Maybe it was something that I didn't want to know.   
  
After all, I said it before, I am tired of fighting.   
  
But I agreed in the end, and now I remember why I am here. Standing in the rain, with my white shirt soaked thoroughly. My black pants so wet, they stick to my skin. And my shoes are heavy; there's water in them. But somehow, I'm still waiting.   
  
Still waiting for him. What was his name again...?   
  
Reiji Kageyama.  
  
-end of ch1- 


	2. An Opening Gate

Chapter 2: An Opening Gate  
  
A few minutes later, he appears. Not really appearing, like how they always think- he just walks over towards me, and says a simple, "Konnichiwa". I don't reply, probably because I'm too shocked to say anything. Too shocked? I wonder why... Never mind, doesn't matter.  
  
Reiji and I walk towards the same noodle shop. Something makes a sound in my stomach, and for a split-second I flinch. Reiji looks at me worriedly, and then I realise it is only the hydrochloric acid in my stomach. I shake my head, telling him that I'm okay. I know I'm not though, even though it was only a simple, normal sound that I should have been somewhat accustomed to, I had actually panicked for that single moment. What has happened to me?   
  
It isn't long before we are seated comfortably in a booth of the ramen shop. Reiji hasn't said a word since his last greeting. He smiles politely to the waitress and orders two bowls of ramen. I wonder how he knows what I want to eat, and then I realise that he has ordered the same thing that I had eaten that day. I feel so irritated with myself...I'm practically over-reacting to everything.   
  
Tokiya Mikagami never used to be such a person. Am I losing it? Losing what...?  
  
"Sorry, I must seem like a stranger to you."  
  
His voice pulls me away from my thoughts. It is clean and clear, I mean his voice. There doesn't seem to be anything else he wants to say to me in the those few words, except to apologise. The way he expresses his apology is sincere, and...  
  
Stop it, Tokiya. What the hell is your problem?!  
  
"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Sort of."  
  
What a pathetic reply. I can do better than that.  
  
"Really?" he believes me anyway. "You're kinda wet...drenched actually. Maybe you should get some dry clothes on first."  
  
How in the world does he think I can get the 'dry clothes'? From your home. It's the small voice again. Again, I realise how annoyed I am with the way I'm unable to maintain my composure.  
  
"No, it's okay. I'm fine. Sort of..."  
  
I might as well take a tape recorder and replay my answer over and over again to him. Something is really wrong with me, and I am agitated because I don't know what.  
  
"Souka," he replies.   
  
There is a few seconds of awkward silence between the two of us before he speaks up again.  
  
"You must be waiting for me to explain everrything to you, huh."  
"...yeah."  
"Haha, sorry, I...I'm not sure how to say this."  
"Me neither."  
  
We both laugh, but the conversation is still strained.  
  
"Erm..so have you heard about Gatekeepers? For example, have you seen one before?"  
"Gatekeepers..?"  
  
I remember that he doesn't know about my strange experience with the fortune teller, so I explain it to him. He nods thoughtfully.  
  
"I see, so you must be very confused now?"  
"I was."  
"You aren't anymore?"  
"I...I still am."  
"I see. So anyway, these people called Gatekeepers fight against alien-like creatures, called invaders. The Gatekeepers have special ability; they are able to draw out extraordinary powers from gates. These Gates don't really exist in this world, and neither can they be seen with the naked eye. I don't think they can be tracked down either, by machines or what have you. You know what I mean?"  
  
It takes me a while to absorb everything, but I manage. So far.  
  
"Gatekeepers, well, let's say they defend the Earth, because the invaders aren't really the greatest friends of the universe. I mean, Earth, of course. In a way, they want to take over our planet, though this corporation named AEGIS is doing everything it can to prevent them from doing so. You know what they always say on TV about aliens invading our planet right? Guess what? They're pretty right. Haha..."  
  
He probably means as joke, to lighten up the atmosphere, but I don't respond, and his weak laughter fades off quickly. Desperate to make up for it, I try to ask him anything.  
  
"What's AEGIS?"  
"AEGIS? It's the organization that deals with the invaders. AEGIS stands for Alien Exterminating Global Intercept System. Sounds overwhelming, but it's only a name, so don't stress out too much on it, okay?"  
"...sure."  
"Also, these invaders, they come at random times, usually attacking in large numbers. The main invader, who leads each attack, is somewhat dressed in red. To defeat the entire group of invaders, a Gatekeeper's goal is to eliminate the one in red. There are also..."  
  
And he went on for very long, talking about everything there was talk about regarding Gatekeepers and invaders and AEGIS. Well, he did talk about almost everything. The most sensitive issues had yet to be brought up.   
I'm still listening to him, and our noodles has long arrived. Neither of the bowls are touched though. When I try the ramen later, I'm sure it'll be cold. After a long time, he pauses, and gives me a long time to digest everything.   
  
And he still doesn't touch his bowl of ramen.  
  
As I sit quietly opposite him, I begin to wonder why he is telling me all of this. If I combine what the fortune teller had told me with what he has just told me, it will only point to one thing. But still even then, his identity would be a mystery to me. Who exactly is he? It's a question that has always been at the back of my mind, but now, it's at the top of my list.   
  
"Still shocked?"  
"...I..."  
"I can understand. It's not the easiest thing to accept."  
  
I know he's wrong, because compared to having to accept my sister's death, and the fact that my own sensei was so much of an enemy that I had ever believed, accepting this is...just about the 'easiest thing'. Plus, of course, I've been wandering around everywhere for so long, I don't know where I'm headed. I'll probably accept anything else he tells me.   
But still, various issues will leave me dumbfounded. Soon enough.  
  
"No, actually, I..I'm fine with what you just said."  
"Really? Yokatta. I haven't really seen anybody like you before."  
"What do you mean?"  
"No, it's nothing."  
"Reiji-san..."  
" 'Reiji' is fine."  
"Reiji, how do you know so much about the Gatekeepers?"  
"I used to be one."  
  
I don't know why, but it doesn't seem much like a surprise to me. Is it because I already know he is definitely one of them? Or is it because the truth hasn't sunk in yet? Anyhow, I say nothing, and stare back at him, expressionless.  
  
"Not sure if you've not noticed. But yeah, I used to be a Gatekeeper."  
"...then why are you telling me all this?"  
"You don't know? You're a gatekeeper."  
  
[]  
I'm hardly thinking for that moment, when he tells me I'm a Gatekeeper, just like him. Just like what he used to be. Isn't it ridiculous? And yet..isn't it how it always falls in place? The smell of refreshing water always surrounding me, the feeling that even though I'm so tired of fighting, I feel incomplete, as if something is left unfinished. And finally, somebody tells me straight in the face...something I was both anticipating and unexpecting at the same time.   
  
I haven't said anything, and Reiji probably thinks I'm just too shocked.  
  
"Tokiya, you should think about this for awhile, and maybe when you feel ready, come find me. I'll always be at this place. Okay?"  
  
I don't reply, and he leads me out to the street.   
The ramen in both bowls is still untouched, and I don't even remember if he has paid.  
  
-end of ch2- 


	3. In a Room

Chapter 3: In a Room  
  
I suppose I truely believed everything he had said. What he told me about the Gatekeepers, and the invaders, and what they did, and what the Gatekeepers did, and all that... It was too much for me to take, but I took it still. And now I'm sitting here, unsure of what I should do. Though there is only one thing left- one thing that that small voice tells me to do. Since last night, it had been mumbling to me, and now it's practically screaming in my ear.   
  
I wonder what I am doing here, in this horribly dark place. I stretch out my arms, but I can't see my hands at all. The dark entity has enveloped my entire self, and my surroundings. There is nothing around me, and nothing in me. I only live here because I am alive. There is hardly any purpose, or objective, or whatever. I'm just nowhere.  
  
A thin line of white light appears in what seems to be the horizon. If there is a horizontal, then where is the vertical? I always wondered about it. No, actuallly, I just started wondering about it. Tokiya, you've really become very weird. Something strange is happening, but is that surprising? The white light seems to broaden, and it seeps into the darkness that I am engulfed in. Soon, it fills the entire space, and everything around me is white. I'm still just nowehere.  
  
I re-open my eyes, and realise I'm lying in my bed. Was it a dream? Probably, though I know it wasn't. I sit up slowly, and look arounnd. Everything in my room is in a mess, and I know the other person in the room is going to kill me for messing up. Hell, he's just as messed up as me. Not his life, though. I walk over to his bed, across the tiny room, and see that he's still asleep. I never bothered to get to know Ukiya, but now, as I think about him, he's been my roommate for a few years now.   
  
Ukiya...just one year younger than me, he reminded me of Hanabishi the minute I saw him. He claimed to be looking for a room to stay in, and was wondering if I would mind him staying with me. I was puzzled at first, since I had never put up any slip of paper that showed that I was in need of someone to satisfy my loneliness. But I agreed. And it was probably because of his character. He was cheerful, loud, and always outspoken. So much like Hanabishi.  
  
What's with me... I sound like a damn gay.  
  
Whatever, he's been living in this small apartment ever since. I only know the basic facts about him- he had been transferred over to this area, perhaps because of work, and thus had to leave his home. He has a younger sister who occasionally comes to visit him, and the younger sister is...well, cute but noisy. I don't know much about younger sisters anyway. Other than that, there is nothing else I know about him, not now at least. I don't even know what's his job, if he does work in the first place. But...I'm always thinking, what the hell, it doesn't concern me.   
  
Nothing concerns me.  
  
Ukiya mutters something, and it's inaudible, but it tells me he's about to wake up. Quickly, I withdraw from his bedside, and get dressed. Soon, as expected, he gets up and lazily says, "Ohayo...." As usual, I don't bother replying, and he's used to it as well. I watch him from the mirror, and I see him fall off his bed. He's always that clumsy once he gets up, and he's always struggling to stand up...  
  
Shut up, Tokiya.   
  
Something catches my eye- there are various cuts on his arms and his neck as well. I wonder if he had been involved in a simple street fight, and he notices me looking at the wounds. He conceals them quickly, and tries to cover up.  
  
"Ah, those? Nothin' much. Just some fierce cat. Ja, I'll go off first 'kay?! Sayounara!"  
  
I am left staring after him, at the closed door. A fierce cat. What a lie. If it had been many fierce cats, perhaps I would've believed him. But wait, that would've been ridiculous as well. Ukiya was well known to be tough and a good fighter as well. Surely he would not have easily succumbed to a bunch of cats. If it had been a street fight, I would've accepted that. But...that would've also been stupid. Why would someone like Ukiya get in a fight...or why would he be so pathetic at fighting, that he'd get so injured? Then I realised.  
  
I would've never believed any answer Ukiya told me.  
And why? Saa...  
  
Anyhow, I run after Ukiya, and stop him. He's surprised, and expresses his confusion.  
  
"Whoa, okay...so whaddya want?"  
"...not a cat...not..."  
"Huh? Mikagami, you okay? What cat?"  
"It..it wasn't a cat! You lied! It wasn't a cat! You weren't hurt by a cat! Or a fight, or anything!!"  
"....Mikagami, what are you talking about? Why are you getting so worked up?"  
  
And why?   
Why am I so worked up? It is the frustration. The confusion and sudden attack of truths; coming from all directions, and the...  
  
I collapse, my head in pain. Ukiya holds me, and as I look up, I see that fear in his eyes. It is the first time I have seen such fear in him. Ever. Soon, I find myself in that magically dark place again, and this time there is no light. I'm just lying somewhere, there, with my eyes closed, and my breaths are loud and resonant.   
  
There is another sound though, a sound that moves with cresecendo. It is getting nearer and nearer...I can feel it...a voice...a male's voice...calling out...Mikagami! Mikagami! Daijoubu ka?! Shikkari shirou yo! Get a hold of yourself! Mikagami! ...and it fades away slowly. What have I been thrown into? Ever since I met Reiji Kageyama, everything has become abnormal. Suddenly, I just feel like going home, home...a real home...the one which I had lived in with One-chan...the one filled with warmth and smiles. I want to see the people I am familiar with- Hokage, the Ensui...Sensei...everyone...  
  
I miss everything.  
  
The black scampers away, as if scared by something. My thoughts? My will? My determination? I don't know. I never will, but at least I have a clear motive now. As I open my eyes again, I see Ukiya, still lying in his bed, snoring. That's what it was. He didn't snore when I saw him at that time. At that time...it wasn't Ukiya. Everything that had happened was...nothing but an illusion. Or what was simply dismissed as a dream. I don't bother waking him up; I just change into my casual wear, and head for the streets.   
  
I am going to find Reiji Kageyama. And I am going to find a purpose in life.  
  
-end of ch3- 


End file.
